Killer Russian Guard Gets 24 Years

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, February 23, 2003

A border guard who shot four fellow servicemen including his commanding officer to death was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment on Monday by the military court for the North Caucasus region.

Pvt. Albert Sibogatov was found guilty of last April's killings at the border guard post in Akhtynsk, on the border with Azerbaijan.

According to trial testimony, Sibogatov had left the base without permission and gotten drunk. On his return, he seized a Kalashnikov automatic rifle from a comrade at the barracks and shot him at point-blank range. Three other soldiers, including Sibogatov's commanding officer, rushed to the scene and he shot all three at close range.

Sibogatov pleaded guilty, saying he had shot his victims because he was afraid of the punishment for levying the base and drinking.

Violence, desertions and suicides have plagued the Russian military in recent years, often blamed on dismal conditions and fierce hazing of draftees.